Arcanists
Arcanists is a turn-based strategy game. Players take turns to utilise one of ten spells, chosen by the player beforehand, in order to ultimately defeat their opponents. How to Play Basics When you first log into Arcanists you must create a character. Playing the tutorial will help you to get the hang of the basics of them game. The number above your characters head is your life meter; if this hits 0, your character will die. Movement and Direction Arrow keys are used to look around the battlefield. Z moves to the left while X moves to the right. Enter is used to perform a long jump, and backspace or shift performs a high jump. N and C switch between minions, centering the camera on the creature under your command. The mouse is used to target and fire most weapons. Under certain curcumstances, you may find yourself with the ability to fly. X and Z move your player right and left as before; Shift flies upwards and Enter flies downwards. If the camera is moved, it will no longer follow a character as he moves; to make it follow your character again, you can use the N or C keys. Sometimes, it can be difficult to jump from one location to the next if your character is facing the wrong way, as turning around may mean you fall from where you are standing. To change direction without moving, choose a weapon and target in the direction you wish to face. Spells The bottom of your screen is the spell bar. This shows which spells you have available. Unavailable spells will be shaded out. Some spells can be used a limited number of times, or must be charged for a certain number of times before they can be used; hovering the mouse over them will show how many charges left on a spell, or how long until it can next be used. Some spells deal certain kinds of damage which have special effects. These are as follows: *Arcane damage - Heals arcane imps *Snow damage - Will not damage Ice Castle; heals frost minions. *Storm damage *Death damage - Minions other than imps that are killed with death damage will be converted into undead minions under your command. Death damage will heal undead minions, including the summoned Wraith. It will also heal any character who has become a Lich using the Lichdom spell. *Light damage - Deals double damage to undead minions and Liches. Ball spells Balls are projectiles which follow a Parabolic trajectory. They are generally among the basic spells in a spellbook. Weapons are aimed and fired with the mouse; the weapon speed is controlled by how long the left mouse button is held. Balls explode on impact. Bomb spells Bombs are identical to balls, except they bounce instead of exploding on impact. They explode after 5 seconds. Bombs can be very useful for enemies which are at the bottom of a pit, especially as many bombs have a cluster effect. They can be difficult to use against enemies which do not have obstacles close to them. Arrows Arrows are essentially homing ball attacks. These spells are excellent at damaging opponents that are at a distance and can be very accurate when used correctly. However, these attacks curve, which can make their direction difficult to predict without practice, and will be stopped by any obstacle. Players must click where they wish the arrow to go, and then fire the spell as with the ball spells. These spells are often fired at full power upwards, to allow the arrow to curve over the top of the landsapce. Bolts Bolts are similar to firearms; they are aimed in one direction and always fire at a set power with a number of shots (normally around 10). Aimed and fired with the mouse. Some care is required as shots may damage you if you stand too close. Arena spells These spells affect the arena in some way. No aiming is required for them. Targeted spells These spells are not directed from your character; instead, they come from the terrain, for example from the sky or the water. For this reason they are very useful for players hiding in an enclosed space, as they do not require any line of sight from the player, although they may require a line of sight from somewhere else (for example, attacks from the sky can be blocked by scenery above the player). Many of these attacks are more powerful than basic attacks. Personal spells These spells affect the player that casts them. They are often some kind of defence against attacks. Minions Minions are creatures that you summon to aid you in different ways. Control of these creatures is cycled by using the N or C keys. Minions are moved in the same manner as your Arcanist, although some have limited abilities (for example, many giants cannot jump very well). Minions will generally have a limited moveset consisting of 1-4 moves, which may use ammunition from your Arcanists spells. Minions can be used offensively to directly attack another player, ordefensively to block attacks. Some summons can be mounted by the player (by touching them) and can then be flown around. To fly you must switch control to the minion; attempting to fly using the Arcanist will result in a dismount. Towers Towers render the Arcanist immobile. They have a limited amount of health of their own, which is added to that of the player; this is the only way to make your Arcanist appear to reach HP of over 250. Towers are damaged by the Quake spell, and many spells from the Book of Stone have increased damage against towers. Special Spells Teleportation: The only spell in the game which teleports a player is "Arcane Gate". It takes a player directly to wherever they wish to go at the cost of one turn, assuming there is enough space. This spell is automatically used if a players falls off the map; they use up their next turn teleporting to a chosen location. If they do not have Arcane Gate available, they may still use it at the cost of one third of their health. Transformation: This limits the Arcanist to using only Arcane spells and spells which can be found in the spellbook in which the transformation is used. Books Arcane Book Main Article: Arcane Book The Arcane Book is the most basic of all 7 spell books it contains six spells that generally aren't very powerful compared to others. The only spell that widely appeals to most players is Arcane Gate it is generally the only spell from this book added to the customization list. Pros: *Contains Arcane Gate. *Arcane Flash does damage over a wide area and knocks opponents far away. *Spell attacks are not affected by other elements. Cons: *Most spells are not very damaging. *Other books have better damaging choices then all spells except Arcane Gate. Book of Flame Main Article: Book of Flame When you start the game part of the Book of Flame is already unlocked. These spells are generally quite damaging, accurate and strike over an area though they usually require the caster to be in close combat and or relatively exposed when casting. Pros: *Rain of Arrows is a very damaging and accurate spell. It does not have as large an area of effect as some elemental control spells allowing you to be at fairly close distance when casting. *Flame Shield deflects aerial attacks making it good cover when using bombs and bolts. *Summon Flame Dragon a mountable minion does high damage and can move the arcanist throughout the map. Cons: *There is no spell with any sort of rejuvinative effect in this book. *All attacks can hurt you. *Most spells require you to be expose while casting. *Volcano destroys large parts of the stage. Casting too many can make the stage almost unnavigable. *Summon Flame Dragon can be easily destroyed with an Underdark casters' Swallowing Pit. Book of Stone Main Article: Book of Stone You must unlock this book. The Book of Stone is an extremely damaging book. However it has major consequences of casting spells in the form of altering the stage. Players often like this book when in close combat or when an opponent attempts to hide. Pros *Pebble Shot does relatively large amounts of damage when in close combat. *Quake will strike all opponents no matter where they are hidden in a certain distance. *Disruption very good at preventing opponents attacks. And very useful when stacked with Chain Lightning (see Book of Storm). *Mega Boulder attack that does immense damage and rebounds. Good at altering terrain. *Meteor excellent attack for damaging and exposing players hiding under terrain. *Excellent in working the map in your favour. Cons *All attacks in this book do not generally work well over long range. *Mega Boulder is extremely dangerous and can often backfire on the arcanist. *Disruption can also prevent you from casting spells if cast in the wrong area. *Since all spells in this book can easily destroy terrain you can make it very hard to navigate around making you an easy target to some spell books such as Overlight which the caster can fly around. *No rejuvinative effect. Book of Storm Main Article: Book of Storm You must unlock this book. The Book of Storm is an extremely popular book. The attacks are very damaging and accurate however the book of storm often backfires dealing damage back to the original caster. Also on the bad side is that you need to be in relatively close combat for any good effect. Pros *Contains many of the most damaging spells in the game. *In close combat spells such as Chain Lightning can deal enough damage to kill a moderate health arcanist in one turn. *Summon Cyclops the cyclops uses extremely deadly spells and is a good replacement for the caster when getting into close combat. *Wind Shield deflects all projectile attacks, good for escaping or getting close to an opponent. *Excellent attacks to penetrate into hiding locations. *Summon Storm Dragon mountable minion nice accurate attacks. *Excellent custom spell book options. Cons *Terrible in long distance casting. *Minions can be easily dismissed by an Overdark user. *Close combat can be easily countered by a Stone book user. *Hard to control attacks. *No healing affect. *Poor at striking multiple targets. *Wind Shield has only 1 use. Book of Frost Main Article: Book of Frost You must unlock this book. The Book of Frost is a book generally used by people who want to engage in long distance combat. Most spells are excellent at striking multiple targets and the arcanist has decent defensive options with these spells. Attacks can be extremely damaging but all these pros are sacrificed at the cost of low accuracy or easy avoidance. Pros *Frost Shards most damaging bolt spell in the game. *Ice Shield is excellent for adding extra protection for a caster in a hiding spot. *Blizzard most damaging spell in the game. Large area of effect. Can trap opponents. *Frost Arrow most damaging Curve of Sight spell in the game. Critical can easily kill many arcanists. *Minions such as Summon Slyph, Summon Ice Giant and Summon Frost Dragon. Are easily the most damaging minions in the game. The Frost Dragon is also mountable. *Ice Bomb most devastating bomb spell in the game. Can 1 hit arcanists though it has low probability of doing so. *Comet similar to Meteor. Exposes hiding locations and is much more damaging. *Summons are not affected by own spells. Cons *Shielding is poor. *Many spells have limited uses. Or require lots or recharging. *Exposed early on. *Poor healing. *Arcanist can be hurt by most of their own spells. *Minions easily destroyed by Overdark user. *Low accuracy and easily avoidable attacks. Book of Underdark Main Article: Book of Underdark You must unlock this book. The Book of Underdark is perhaps the book that is most difficult to use in the game. However once mastered it becomes very hard to kill a specialized underdark caster. Specializes at self healing and minion control. Pros *Can attack at a distance. *Many attacks heal the caster. *Lichdom makes all dark attacks received or dealt heal the caster. *Summon Dark Knight is a fairly damaging spell. *Summon Wraith this creature is healed by all dark damage and can fly to opponents. *If using minions Dark Defences will allow you to absorb their health and heal. *Swallowing Pit eliminates all summons on the map except wraiths. *Aura of Decay can strike anyone anywheres without serious changes to the map. *Excellent combination with full book. *Death Bomb is excellent healing and damage dealing to other opponents. *Resilient. Cons *Lacks extremely damaging attacks. *Very exposed during the first 5 turns. *Not easy to use spells in custom lists. *Rain of Chaos the books most powerful spell is very unaccurate. *Weak in close combat. *May only use underdark spells in Lichdom. *Hard to damage other Liches. *All Minions and Lich (except Summon Dark Knight) suffer double damage from Overlight attacks. Book of Overlight Main Article: Book of Overlight You must unlock this book. The Book of Overlight is another popular book. This book emphasizes healing and defence. They have a good advantage over Overdark users. But are vulnerable and are exposed during most of their attacks. Pros *Best healing class in the game. Several spells heal. *Shining Power allows these units to fly around the map. Also heals 10 health per turn. *Deals double damage against Overdark units. *Invulnerability Shield this spell made the book popular. Protects the arcanist for a few turns. *Excellent at escaping close combat. Cons *Only moderate damage dealers. *Shining Power allows the until to only use Overlight spells. *Can be easily hit by Curve of Sight attacks in Shining Power Form. *Book of Frost users have advantage over heavy Overlight users. *Horrible at close combat. *Minions can be easily dismissed by Overdark users. Achievements * Enchanter - Achieved after winning a rated game. Awards 100 Orb points and 1 Orb coin. * Apprentice - Achieved after winning 5 rated games. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Acolyte - Achieved after winning 25 rated games. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Mage - Achieved after winning 50 rated games. Awards 300 Orb points and 3 Orb coins. * High Mage - Achieved after achieving a rank of 2000 after winning 50 rated games. Awards 500 Orb points and 5 Orb coins. * Arch Mage - Achieved after achieving a rank of 5000 after winning 50 rated games. Awards 1000 Orb points and 10 Orb coins. * Master of Flame - Achieved after winning a rated game with the full Book of Flame. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Master of Frost - Achieved after winning a rated game with the full Book of Frost. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Master of Storm - Achieved after winning a rated game with the full Book of Storm. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Master of Stone - Achieved after winning a rated game with the full Book of Stone. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Master of Light - Achieved after winning a rated game with the full Book of Overlight. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Master of Darkness - Achieved after winning a rated game with the full Book of Underdark. Awards 200 Orb points and 2 Orb coins. * Master of Minions - Achieved after winning a rated game with 10 minion spells in your spell book. Awards 500 Orb points and 5 Orb coins. * Winning Streak - Win 2 rated games in a row in one session. Awards 500 Orb points and 5 Orb coins. * Winning Storm - Win 5 rated games in a row in one session. Awards 1000 Orb points and 10 Orb coins. * Critical Hit - Deal 250 damage in 1 hit in a rated game. Awards 300 Orb points and 3 Orb coins. Category:Arcade Games Category:Multi-player Games Category:Original Games Category:Strategy Games